More Cables

Because I had so much love for this pattern the first time around......

This version is for my other niece. I don't think I will have enough time to finish this one by Christmas. Today was my last day in Rome. Andy's parents have been in town to visit and we have literally covered every square inch of this city to make sure we haven't missed anything. Tomorrow we get on a plane and head for home. I am sad and happy at the same time. Needless to say, I haven't had much time to sit and knit.

I just had to stop by the yarn store today and pick up my last purchase of Italian yarn. Arrividerci Roma! I will miss you!

Finito!

I have finally finished the cable sweater. I feel like this sweater took me forever to knit. I mean, it has a lot of cables. I did take a few weeks off for travel and my dad came into town for a week where there was very little knitting going on. But I am completely proud of this sweater. It is the largest sweater I have knit so far and I really like the way it came out.




I really liked this pattern. It is Child's Nashawena by Penny Straker and I knit it in a child's size 10 for my niece Hailey. She has blonde hair and blue eyes so I think the color will be perfect for her. The yarn is Lion Brand Cotton in turquoise. (Bonus - I found it on sale for 97 cents a ball and it only took 5 balls for this sweater!) I used size 2 needles for the cuffs and collar and size 6 needles for the rest of the sweater. Love it!

Just one question: Can I put a "Made in Italy" label on this?

Home Soon

Our time in Rome is winding down. We have less than three weeks left here. I will be very sad to leave, but at the same time I am ready to go home. There really is no place like home. I have missed so many things about home while I was here - mostly food items. Believe me when I tell you that the selection is limited to Italian food here in Italy. That might sound OK to some of you, but I really miss having a diverse selection of food to eat. It is pretty much pasta, pasta, and more pasta. And knitters - yarn stores are few and far between. Knitting is not really as big here as it is in other countries. Knitting here is something the grandmothers do. In Rome, there are only two yarn stores that I know of. I have only been to one. Lana Della Vecchia:

It is a tiny little yarn store near the Campo De Fiori. Not like the stores back home. They do have a pretty good selection of Italian yarns, though, and among other things..... undergarments!

Yes - those are Playtex bras in the window. Very weird.

Cables!

Definite progress is being made on the sweater I am knitting for one of my neices for Christmas. This is in between visitors, traveling Italy and sightseeing (still!), and spending time with Oliver. He definitely keeps me busy these days!


So, not much more to do - a sleeve and a half, neck, and seams. Oh yeah - and another one of these sweaters for my other niece. Not much. I can do it. One month. Uh huh.

Yummy Italian Yarn

My husband's birthday was last week and he told me he was disappointed that I didn't knit anything for him. I was sort of surprised about this because he has never really expressed interest in me knitting something for him - not that he doesn't express interest in my knitting - I just didn't think he wanted something "home made". He is worse than me when it comes to designer shopping. Trust. Sooo, we were in Florence this past weekend and I found another great yarn store - Beatrice Galli Yarn Shop - and I picked up some yummy yarn to knit him a scarf. Its 100% Italian Merino Wool and it just so happens to match his new coat.

I saw this scarf in Furla and I am using it as inspiration.

I know that it is chunkier than the yarn I have but I like the simplicity of the two ribs on either side.

I was also thinking, since my husband is an architect, that this hat would be an appropriate knit to go along with his scarf. I also like it for myself, so I went to my LRYS (Local Roman Yarn Store), Lana Della Vecchia, near the Campo de Fiori and picked up some yarn for the both of us - the charcoal for my husband to match his scarf and the chocolate for myself.

My dad is coming over to visit next week and I already have him picking up a copy of the Interweave Knits Holiday Gift Issue so that I can have the pattern for this hat.

Sweater Vest

I have finally gotten around to taking pictures of the sweater vest and internet finally came to our apartment (how long have we been in Rome? Ya, it really took that long to get internet!) so without further waiting......


Pattern: Cable Tank Top by Debbie Bliss in Simply Baby
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK in Pale Blue


It was virtually impossible to get Oliver to sit still to take his picture while he modeled his little vest, so these are the best shots I could get.



And becuse I forgot to give credit where credit is due for the Teddy Bear on my last post:
Pattern: Teddy Bear by Debbie Bliss in Simply Baby
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK in Stone

Birthday FO's

I have been away for a long time - but I have still been knitting! Rome (and traveling Italy) has been keeping me very busy but I have definitely found the time to break out the needles and yarn and knit away - especially since there are no English speaking television shows to distract me at night.
My little babe's first birthday was great and I finished the teddy bear and the sweater vest with time to spare! He loved the teddy bear! It was the first present he opened and he gave me a big hug! I was so happy and I hope he keeps it for years to come.


We had a big party for Oliver's Birthday and he wore his new vest. He looked so cute - and he had a great time! I have no close-ups yet of the finished product but here is a picture of the litte man sporting it:

I have yet to take pictures of the details and better photos of Oliver wearing it - but they will come!

In Italian yarn news: I found the cutest yarn store when we were in Venice. It is called Lellabella and it carried beautiful yarns. I just had to pick up some even though I have no projects for these yet - but I'm sure I can find some. The first is a merino wool cashmere blend. It is a gorgeous cream color with flecks of tan running through it:


And the second is pure Italian cashmere. It is so soft I just had to have it despite the pricetag, which is why I didn't puchase too many balls. I'm thinking I can knit some beautiful gloves with this.

I have also started on one of the sweaters for my nieces for Christmas. I am hoping that I will be able to get two of these done before December 25th. I know it seems like it is a long way off and I have plenty of time but with everything going on here coming up in the next couple of months, my time is limited. I will have pictures of my progress on this sweater next time as well.
If anyone (I hope I still have readers here) wants to check out my other blog about our stay in Rome and our travels in Italy you can go to: saundersromanholiday.blogspot.com